Distributed Talent Connections

Many professionals start careers with a specific goal and work tirelessly every day to achieve that goal. But then what? Matt Berry is a former marketing and communications executive at a very well know major technology company. Like many, he started as a young professional, excelled at what he did, and his performance led to rapid promotion. And then he left. Three years ago, Matt gave it all up to start Conversion Marketing, a marketing and communications agency that specialized B2B technology. In this week’s episode, Matt talks about the professional and personal needs he filled by starting his agency, the importance of not attempting to do everything, and how he built and scaled his team of distributed professionals spanning the US, Canada, and Europe.

Startup success often depends on the ability to respond to change quickly. Lunchpool, born out of winning the 2018 Tampa Bay Startup Weekend Competition, set out to use technology to foster meaningful human connections in the workplace. Responding to changes in the market, they have pivoted to delivering exceptional virtual event experiences that feel like the real thing, including virtual interactions with groups that are challenging to relocate on other platforms. Additionally, Lunchpool takes advantage of the flexibility offered by a distributed team. In this episode, CEO Alex Abell discusses how he manages his team, the positives and negatives being distributed, and how the transition to virtual events started. He also offers excellent advice to startups looking to scale.

When CEO Heidi Davidson launched Galvanize Worldwide more than five years ago, the concept of on-demand distributed talent was still in its infancy. Those initial conversations with clients and prospects were a bit challenging. No offices and all employees/contractors were distributed across the U.S. and Canada. But Heidi and co-founder Jeff Gadway never diverted away from the lunch table discussion that conceived Galvanize. Today, with over 80 members, Galvanize is the world’s largest network of on-demand distributed marketing and communications professionals. In this week’s episode, Heidi discusses how Galvanize started, scaled, and how the conversations with clients have completely changed over five years. Heidi also provides insights on the ideal candidates to participate in this freelance model, including professionals who want flexibility, are in between jobs, moms or dads who need to be home for school-age kids, and baby boomers nearing retirement who still can contribute valuable skills and experience.  

Not specifically focused on Distributed Talent, but COVID-19 is creating challenges for all of us.  This episode is a recording of a webinar I participated in with Kathy Keating, Founder, ProInsComms and Heidi Davidson, CEO, Galvanize WorldWide. We discussed  PR and Client management strategies, as well as offer practical advice on steps Marketing and PR professionals should take to manage the news and content pipeline during these unprecedented times. 

Everyone, by now, is familiar with the likes of Zoom, WebEx, and Microsoft Teams. If you need basic video conference capabilities, Remo CEO Ho Yin Cheung would suggest using one of those. If you want to truly connect with remote teams or attendees of a virtual event on a human level, Remo offers something completely different. Remo fosters interactive collaborations, networking opportunities, and delivers a virtual attendee experience not available on other platforms. They provide the most natural virtual experience possible today. On top of that, Ho Yin built Remo as a company from the ground up using distributed talent. Based in Hong Kong, he manages a team spread across time zones from China to Europe to the US. In this week’s episode, Ho Yin details the Remo user experience as well as provide insights into building a completely remote team. We also discussed different employment models as startups like Remo scale, including the value of remaining mobile-first versos a hybrid approach. If you are a startup looking for direction on building out your team or the organizer of a virtual event, Ho Yin delivers excellent insights.

Marketing and communications professionals are among the fastest-growing segment of the distributed workforce.  After successful careers in-house or at agencies many marketing and communications professionals gravitate towards distributed models.  Factors that hold back or delay decisions to venture into the land of solopreneurs include the ability to access services at affordable rates and networking with colleagues and other professionals.  Recognizing this dilemma was a driving factor that led Communications vet Kathy Keating to create ProsInComms, an online community for communicators in the tech industry.  In this episode, Kathy provides details ProsInComms coaching services, advice on employment law, taxes, and accounting, educational resources, virtual networking, and the ability to gain access to important services traditionally have been limited to large firms. ProsInComms also helps find and secure clients, with access to exclusive contracting opportunities with technology companies. You can find Kathy at ProsInComms.com and on Linked in at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenkeatingpr/

Agile methods have traditionally been deeply rooted in the concept of co-location. This in-person mentality is more firmly planted in Agile Training and Coaching. However, teams requiring training are often global, and travel isn't always an option. It can be expensive and pulls team members out of the office for weeks at a time.  

Companies interested in agile training or coaching services have options. Joshua Barnes, founder of Process Mentors, is one of the world's leading experts on Disciplined Agile training and coaching.  He has developed a groundbreaking approach to virtual training that is convenient for participants and advantageous for enterprises. Process Mentors have successfully trained nearly 1000 participants using this type of virtual training. 

In this session, Joshua details the flexibility and cost avoidance of virtual training, which also aligns with the realities of today's distributed workforces. Joshua also details best practices for virtual training and explains how and when virtual training should be used in conjunction with in-person training. 

One of the fastest-growing sectors of the employment market is the use of on-demand distributed talent. Unlike traditional remote workers, distributed professionals have ditched the traditional office role in favor of injecting their skills and talents into a range of different companies, often doing work for several companies at once. With their experience and skills, these highly sought after professionals deliver results quickly and are an attractive option for companies with gaps in skilled professional talent.  These on-demand professionals are considered contractors and often misclassified classified as “Gig Economy” workers.

California AB-5, which was intended to protect Gig Economy workers like Uber drivers who provide a price-sensitive service that doesn’t require differentiated skills, has unintended consequences for on-demand distributed professionals who have no desire to be considered traditional full-time employees.  

Our guest to discuss the impact of Gig Economy legislation and other legal issues for distributed professionals is Amy Anger.  Amy is the founder and principal at Atrip Legal Services and Atrip Consulting. She is an attorney and nationally recognized leader on issues pertaining to on-demand professionals and gig economy issues.  

In this episode, Amy discusses the impact on distributed professionals of California AB5 and similar legislative efforts in other states.  She offers tips and advice on what should on-demand professionals do to protect themselves from this or future legislation that is actually aimed at protecting a different set of workers. Amy also offers advice on steps on-demand professionals should take to engage with clients and best practices for extending engagements. 

To contact Amy please reach out to her at www.https://www.atripconsulting.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyanger/